MOUNT FOREST – An educational series addressing death, dying and grief titled “The Necessary Journey: An Orientation to Death, Dying and Grief” and led by the Mount Forest United Church begins this month.
“Last spring, I had this sense that there was a lot of unexpressed grief in the community; so many people had died during the pandemic, and we couldn’t grieve them properly,” Rev. Sheryl Spencer stated in an Oct. 26 church press release.
Spencer applied to the church’s Embracing the Spirit Fund for grant money to put a community-accessible series together.
Drawing on a variety of community organizations and individuals, the series runs from November to June with monthly events preparing participants to think about death, dying and grief.
A free “death café” kicks the series off on Nov. 12 at 7pm led by grief educator RoseAnne Desmarais under the topic “Talking about Death Won’t Kill You.”
“Death Cafés are gatherings where people join together to share in conversation about issues surrounding death in order to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their finite lives,” states the press release.
Other series events will include workshops and presentations involving England Funeral Home, Hospice Wellington, Motus O dance theatre, consultants, educators and artists.
A list of resources on death, dying and grief will be available at www.mountforestunitedchurch.com, where the death-curious can register for the series.
